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Lot Essay
This endangered species strap is shown for display purposes only and is not for sale. The watch will be supplied with a calf leather strap.
A great rarity and one of the key pieces of mid-20th century haute horology, the present watch is highly significant as a part of the history of the development of the tourbillon movement for use in wristwatches. The movement is one of only around a dozen wristwatch-sized tourbillon movements made by Omega for Observatory testing in 1947, the majority of which were never cased or sold. The ‘prototype’ wristwatch, the only one of the caliber 30. I movements to be finished as a completed wristwatch at the time, was sold at auction in 2017 for 1,428,500 Swiss Francs.
In 1987, seven of the remaining caliber 30 I movements from the company’s archive stock including the present watch, were completely refurbished and cased in either sterling silver or gold cases. One of the highlights of an important private collection for almost 20 years and hardly ever available on the open market, the present watch offers collectors the opportunity to possess one of these exceptional high-precision wristwatches.
Commercially produced tourbillon wristwatches as we know them today first appeared in the 1980s. However, in 1947, in a move that was way ahead of its time, Omega developed and created 12 (though now believed to be 13) prototype tourbillon movements which were called caliber 30 I. Unusually, the tourbillon cage takes 7.5 minutes to complete a full rotation, in contrast to the standard tourbillon movement which has a one minute rotation. The small 30 mm size, hand-wound calibre was intended to be developed into the first commercial Swiss wristwatch with a tourbillon regulator. According to the Omega Museum Archives, this move was in order to compete with foreign competition by producing watches of technical superiority and therefore great accuracy. In order to ensure their high precision, the caliber 30 I movements were made and adjusted for entry into Observatory precision contests. It is thought that they were made by Jean-Pierre Matthey-Claudet constructed according to plans drawn up by Marcel Vuilleumier, the director of the Ecole d'Horlogerie in the Vallée de Joux. The movements were regulated by the famous régleur Alfred Jaccard who in 1936 had regulated a watch that achieved an incredible 97.8 points out of 100 in the Kew Observatory trials, a record that remains unbroken to this day. The movements took part in several chronometer contests from 1947 until 1952, performing particularly well in Geneva. In 1950, a cal. 30 I with the serial number 10,595,933 (two numbers away from the present watch) achieved the highest score in the category for a single wristwatch with 867.7 points.
Observatory Trials were the ultimate test of chronometry. Movements of superior technical design, perfect finish and expert regulation were selected from inventory or manufactured for the purpose. The movements were then fixed to square blocks, for easy handling, and enclosed in aluminum or wooden cases for transportation. They were tested in five different positions in varying temperatures ranging from 4-36 degrees centigrade, testing lasted 44 or 45 days depending on the observatory. Omega had sensational success at the observatory trials, their esteemed régleurs won a total of 93 victories and of these, 72 were records and one a world record in all categories.
A great rarity and one of the key pieces of mid-20th century haute horology, the present watch is highly significant as a part of the history of the development of the tourbillon movement for use in wristwatches. The movement is one of only around a dozen wristwatch-sized tourbillon movements made by Omega for Observatory testing in 1947, the majority of which were never cased or sold. The ‘prototype’ wristwatch, the only one of the caliber 30. I movements to be finished as a completed wristwatch at the time, was sold at auction in 2017 for 1,428,500 Swiss Francs.
In 1987, seven of the remaining caliber 30 I movements from the company’s archive stock including the present watch, were completely refurbished and cased in either sterling silver or gold cases. One of the highlights of an important private collection for almost 20 years and hardly ever available on the open market, the present watch offers collectors the opportunity to possess one of these exceptional high-precision wristwatches.
Commercially produced tourbillon wristwatches as we know them today first appeared in the 1980s. However, in 1947, in a move that was way ahead of its time, Omega developed and created 12 (though now believed to be 13) prototype tourbillon movements which were called caliber 30 I. Unusually, the tourbillon cage takes 7.5 minutes to complete a full rotation, in contrast to the standard tourbillon movement which has a one minute rotation. The small 30 mm size, hand-wound calibre was intended to be developed into the first commercial Swiss wristwatch with a tourbillon regulator. According to the Omega Museum Archives, this move was in order to compete with foreign competition by producing watches of technical superiority and therefore great accuracy. In order to ensure their high precision, the caliber 30 I movements were made and adjusted for entry into Observatory precision contests. It is thought that they were made by Jean-Pierre Matthey-Claudet constructed according to plans drawn up by Marcel Vuilleumier, the director of the Ecole d'Horlogerie in the Vallée de Joux. The movements were regulated by the famous régleur Alfred Jaccard who in 1936 had regulated a watch that achieved an incredible 97.8 points out of 100 in the Kew Observatory trials, a record that remains unbroken to this day. The movements took part in several chronometer contests from 1947 until 1952, performing particularly well in Geneva. In 1950, a cal. 30 I with the serial number 10,595,933 (two numbers away from the present watch) achieved the highest score in the category for a single wristwatch with 867.7 points.
Observatory Trials were the ultimate test of chronometry. Movements of superior technical design, perfect finish and expert regulation were selected from inventory or manufactured for the purpose. The movements were then fixed to square blocks, for easy handling, and enclosed in aluminum or wooden cases for transportation. They were tested in five different positions in varying temperatures ranging from 4-36 degrees centigrade, testing lasted 44 or 45 days depending on the observatory. Omega had sensational success at the observatory trials, their esteemed régleurs won a total of 93 victories and of these, 72 were records and one a world record in all categories.